The traveling public returned to the Mississippi Welcome Center this morning, as offices at the rest stop at Washington Street and the Mississippi River bridges reopened after two months of landscaping.

New crepe myrtle trees, Indian hawthorn bushes and groundcover grass are now in green spaces around the building now outfitted with a timed irrigation system. A row of benches was installed facing the bridges to encourage visitors to take a load off as they view the horizon.

“The barriers are down,” center supervisor Elmerree Bradley said. “We have a lot of different benches around here now, and some shrubs.”

Operating hours have returned to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. , Bradley said.

Workers at the rest area along the Mississippi/Louisiana border had worked out of the Mississippi Development Authority’s offices in Jackson since Oct. 1 when the greenery was uprooted and tourists seeking information were rerouted to the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, all funded by federal stimulus money awarded to the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Grenada-based Mayrant & Associates performed the $74,534 job that allowed them to work through March. MDOT officials, who planned from the outset to minimize how long the offices and restrooms were closed to the public, have said the center should remain open as long as the roots hold.

“We were true to our word to close it at the latest possible time and reopen at the earliest possible time,” MDOT Central District Engineer Kevin Magee said.

MDOT owns the buildings housing the state’s 14 welcome centers, but the MDA’s Division of Tourism operates them and employs people to distribute information on area tourist attractions. Vicksburg’s welcome center opened in 1980 and was last renovated in 2005.